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Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2026
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← 2024
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| Illinois' 1st Congressional District |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: November 3, 2025 |
| Primary: March 17, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
6 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th • 16th • 17th Illinois elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 |
All U.S. House districts, including the 1st Congressional District of Illinois, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is March 17, 2026. The filing deadline was November 3, 2025. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
- Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
General election
The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Incumbent Jonathan Jackson is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Jonathan Jackson | ||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joely Faren King (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Marcus Lewis and Christian Maxwell are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Marcus Lewis | ||
Christian Maxwell ![]() | ||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Brian Kovaka (R)
Candidate profiles
There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Illinois
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Jackson | Democratic Party | $132,010 | $166,876 | $18,822 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Marcus Lewis | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Christian Maxwell | Republican Party | $8,758 | $288 | $12,552 | As of September 30, 2025 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]
| Race ratings: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 12/23/2025 | 12/16/2025 | 12/9/2025 | 12/2/2025 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Decision Desk HQ and The Hill | Pending | Pending | Pending | Pending | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Illinois in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Illinois, click here.
| Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| Illinois | U.S. House | Established parties | Not less than .5% (.005) of the qualified primary electors of their party in the congressional district | N/A | 11/3/2025 | Source |
| Illinois | U.S. House | Independents | Not less than 5% nor more than 8% (or 50 more than the minimum, whichever is greater) of the total number of persons who voted at the last regular general election within the congressional district. | N/A | 5/26/2026 | Source |
District history
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.
General election
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Incumbent Jonathan Jackson (D) defeated Marcus Lewis (R) in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jonathan Jackson (D) | 65.8 | 208,398 |
| | Marcus Lewis (R) | 34.1 | 108,064 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0% | 45 | ||
| Total votes: 316,507 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Incumbent Jonathan Jackson (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jonathan Jackson | 100.0 | 72,420 |
| Total votes: 72,420 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Marcus Lewis (R) defeated Montelle Gaji (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Marcus Lewis | 80.0 | 15,282 |
| | Montelle Gaji ![]() | 20.0 | 3,814 | |
| Total votes: 19,096 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Jonathan Jackson (D) defeated Eric Carlson (R), Tori Nicholson (Independent), and Babette Peyton (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jonathan Jackson (D) ![]() | 67.0 | 159,142 |
| | Eric Carlson (R) ![]() | 33.0 | 78,258 | |
| Tori Nicholson (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 13 | ||
| | Babette Peyton (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 12 | |
| Total votes: 237,425 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Mitchel Davilo (Independent)
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jonathan Jackson ![]() | 28.2 | 21,607 |
| | Pat Dowell ![]() | 19.0 | 14,594 | |
| | Karin Norington-Reaves ![]() | 14.1 | 10,825 | |
| | Jacqueline Collins | 12.1 | 9,299 | |
| | Chris Butler ![]() | 5.4 | 4,141 | |
| | Jahmal Cole | 5.3 | 4,045 | |
| | Jonathan Swain | 3.3 | 2,554 | |
| | Michael Thompson ![]() | 2.2 | 1,680 | |
| Charise Williams | 2.1 | 1,601 | ||
| | Cassandra Goodrum ![]() | 1.9 | 1,422 | |
| | Marcus Lewis | 1.2 | 901 | |
| | Robert Palmer | 1.2 | 899 | |
| Nykea Pippion McGriff | 1.2 | 892 | ||
| | Terre Layng Rosner ![]() | 1.0 | 780 | |
| Ameena Nuur Matthews | 0.9 | 686 | ||
| | Kirby Birgans | 0.7 | 511 | |
| | Steven DeJoie ![]() | 0.3 | 251 | |
| Total votes: 76,688 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- J. Darnell Jones (D)
- Darius Dee Nix (D)
- Michael Payne (D)
- Stephany Rose Spaulding (D)
- Howard Spiller (D)
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Eric Carlson (R) defeated Jeff Regnier (R), Geno Young (R), and Philanise White (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eric Carlson ![]() | 40.5 | 10,755 |
| | Jeff Regnier ![]() | 39.0 | 10,375 | |
Geno Young ![]() | 14.5 | 3,853 | ||
| | Philanise White | 6.0 | 1,598 | |
| Total votes: 26,581 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Matthew O'Keefe (R)
General election
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Incumbent Bobby Rush (D) defeated Philanise White (R) and Ruth Pellegrini (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bobby Rush (D) | 73.8 | 239,943 |
| | Philanise White (R) | 26.2 | 85,027 | |
| | Ruth Pellegrini (Independent) (Write-in) ![]() | 0.0 | 153 | |
| Total votes: 325,123 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Incumbent Bobby Rush (D) defeated Sarah Gad (D), Robert Emmons Jr. (D), and Ameena Nuur Matthews (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bobby Rush | 71.5 | 94,863 |
| | Sarah Gad | 10.4 | 13,783 | |
| | Robert Emmons Jr. ![]() | 10.3 | 13,628 | |
| Ameena Nuur Matthews | 7.8 | 10,409 | ||
| Total votes: 132,683 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Darnell Leatherwood (D)
- Robert Palmer (D)
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Philanise White (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Philanise White | 100.0 | 10,134 |
| Total votes: 10,134 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Lynn Franco (R)
- Jimmy Lee Tillman II (R)
- John Wassenaar (R)
District analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.
- District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
- Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
- State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

Partisan Voter Index
Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+18. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 18 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Illinois' 1st the 75th most Democratic district nationally.[5]
2020 presidential election results
The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.
| Kamala Harris |
Donald Trump |
|---|---|
| 65.0% | 33.0% |
Presidential voting history
- See also: Presidential election in Illinois, 2024
Illinois presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 17 Democratic wins
- 15 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Illinois' congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Illinois | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 2 | 14 | 16 |
| Republican | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 17 | 19 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Illinois' top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | |
| Lieutenant Governor | |
| Secretary of State | |
| Attorney General |
State legislature
Illinois State Senate
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 40 | |
| Republican Party | 19 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | |
Illinois House of Representatives
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 78 | |
| Republican Party | 40 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 118 | |
Trifecta control
Illinois Party Control: 1992-2025
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas • Two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
= candidate completed the